Julian Alaphilippe could be without his coach and cousin Franck Alaphilippe for the first time since 2019 with the Soudal-QuickStep trainer not renewed for 2024 amid tensions between the two-time World Champion and team boss Patrick Lefevere.
Lefevere has been very vocal in his criticism of Alaphilippe in recent years especially after a hellish, injury-filled 2022 season that saw his performance levels drop. Alongside this and the complicated issues of the failed merger with Jumbo-Visma, it didn’t come as much of a surprise to Franck Alaphilippe that he was leaving the team.
The 57-year-old spoke to CyclismActu after revealing he would no longer be a team member for the coming season to Le Berry. Lefevere discussed with Franck Alaphilippe that he would be released at the end of October, four years after joining the team.
“I kind of saw it coming. There was already a first signal with everything that happened around the merger between Jumbo-Visma and Soudal Quick-Step,” said Franck Alaphilippe.
“As my contract expired, I found myself in a difficult situation. When the merger didn’t go through, I was still not sure, but I dared to hope.
“After the merger issues, there were tensions between Patrick Lefevere and Julian, which again made my situation a bit uncertain. So I wasn’t really surprised when I heard that I couldn’t stay.”
Franck Alaphilippe is adamant that he still wants to work with his cousin from an external role, but is unsure of the possibility given he is now outside the team.
“I am his coach until the end of December, and for the future, there are currently discussions with the team and with Julian,” he said. “What is certain is that I will never let him down. I have already spoken with a sports director of the team and he thinks that the best solution for Julian is for me to continue training him.
“Given the contacts I have had, imposing another trainer on Julian does not seem to be the path that Soudal Quick-Step wants to take regarding Julian, but I do not yet know what will happen on January 1st.
“I have always trained Julian, I know him by heart, I know when he is going well and when he is not going well. I imagine he wants to continue with me, but the goal is for him to be as good as possible. What is certain in any case, and I have already spoken about it with Julian, is that I will not be his second trainer. You only need one coach.”
Julian Alaphilippe is contracted with Soudal-QuickStep until the end of 2024,…
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